The good people of Ambrosia Software have released Ares. Anticipated for more than two years, Ares is a space-based game that offers Net play and a whole passle' of fun. According to Ambrosia Software:

"OK, pilots, here's the plan," you say into the communicator, as you eye your shipboard computer. "The Gators have a base on that distant planet to the galactic south. It's defended by a fleet of about 15 ships, plus a flak drone."

Your speech is interrupted by the sound of ships slowing from super-light speeds. It is a wing of Gaitori cruisers, and they've stopped right in the middle of your fleet! The night sky is lit up with the rays from 30 of your ships' photokinetic beam cannons. Half of the intruders leave just as quickly as they came; the others now bear a striking resemblance to space debris. Fragments of Gaitori's finest technology pelt your windshield, reminding you of hailstorms back on Earth.

Unfortunately, a mission briefing is not the time for nostalgia. After a quick damage report, you continue relating the plans. Blue group will create a diversion away from the planet, and hopefully draw away some of the defenders. Green group will escort the engineers to the drone. If Green can take it, Blue and Green will converge at the drone and defend it until reinforcements can arrive.

Your comrades slide into formation, and prepare for battle. They're doing remarkably well for folks who only started seeing intergalactic action yesterday. You smile to yourself, until you realize that you've probably just spoken to some of these guys for the last time. How many of them will live to see Earth again? The question races through your mind as you enter lightspeed, with the rest of Blue group in pursuit. The thought will have to be tabled -- in an instant, you'll find out whether your RADAR was right about those 15 defenders.

Ares is an exciting blend of action and strategy in uncharted space. Use your ships to control and protect planets, increase your manufacturing capacity, and fuel your war machine. A shrewd pilot with limited resources can decisively outwit a stronger opponent, so planning and execution are critical. Strategy outmatches guns any day in this game.

Start with simple patrol missions, and work your way up to planetary invasions. Capture and hold strategic points, or your victory will be more costly! Send a swarm of ships to engulf the enemy, or sacrifice a lone fighter to draw them into a trap! No technique is too unconventional in your quest to recapture your home planet.

Ares' developer, Nathan Lamont, has crafted an exciting universe with 20 strategic missions for a single player to accomplish. But the fun doesn't stop there! Two players can go head-to-head via AppleTalk or the Internet. Ares even sports integration with Scott Kevill's GameRanger service, so finding an opponent should be a snap.

Another new feature is the addition of three in-depth turorial levels to ease you into the commander's chair, explain basic tactics, and teach game controls. Absorb the knowledge, and use it to spank the oppressors. Ignore it, and go home disintegrated.

Ares requires any 68040 or Power Macintosh computer with MacOS 7.5.3 or later, a 13" color monitor, and 6 MB of free RAM.